Characteristics of Diverse Verbal Pain Descriptors in South Korean Patients With Peripheral Neuropathic Pain:‘Jeorim’ (Tingling) and ‘Sirim’ (Cold) as Key Neuropathic Pain Descriptors
- Author:
Kyomin CHOI
1
;
Ohyun KWON
;
Bum Chun SUH
;
Jeeyoung OH
;
Sungkun CHO
;
Eunhee SOHN
;
In Soo JOO
Author Information
- Publication Type:ORIGINAL ARTICLE
- From:Journal of Clinical Neurology 2023;19(3):296-303
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background:and Purpose The description of pain is the most-important indicator leading to the adequate treatment of patients with neuropathic pain (NeP). The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize the unique features of Korean verbal descriptions in patients with peripheral NeP.
Methods:This study included 400 patients (167 males and 233 females) and their 1,387 paindescription responses. Patients with peripheral NeP freely described their symptoms in Korean. Collected verbal descriptions were grouped according to terminologies with similar meanings. Participants completed validated patient-reported outcome scales including the neuropathic pain symptom inventory (NPSI) and painDETECT questionnaire (PD-Q). The frequencies of each verbal pain descriptor were compared between the NPSI and PD-Q scores.
Results:‘Jeorim’ (tingling) was the most common among 17 types of organized verbal pain descriptors, and the ‘Sirim’ (cold) symptom had a significantly higher rate of use in the 2 highseverity groups when participants were classified by their total scores on the NPSI and PD-Q.
Conclusions:Korean verbal NeP descriptors were significantly diverse. The Jeorim (tingling) and Sirim (cold) descriptors can be utilized in evaluations of Korean patients with NeP.
